The Rumor by Elin Hilderbrand

The Rumor 

by Elin Hilderbrand

From Amazon.com:

A friendship is tested in this irresistible page-turner from New York Times bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand.Nantucket writer Madeline King could not have picked a worse time to have writer's block. Her deadline is looming, her bills are piling up, and inspiration is in short supply. Madeline's best friend Grace, is hard at work transforming her garden into the envy of the island with the help of a ruggedly handsome landscape architect. Before she realizes it, Grace is on the verge of a decision that will irrevocably change her life. Could Grace's crisis be Madeline's salvation? As the gossip escalates, and the summer's explosive events come to a head, Grace and Madeline try desperately to set the record straight--but the truth might be even worse than rumor has it. 

My thoughts:

I am mourning the end of summer, so I needed a beachy read to try to hold onto it  for  a little longer.  I have had this book on my shelf for some time, but I actually decided to listen to the audio book from the library which allowed me to pass along my hardcover copy to  a friend.  

Rumors can be very damaging and it is surprising how much people are willing to believe things they have heard through the grapevine.  In this novel there are multiple rumors, mostly about Madeline, her best friend Grace and their families.  The funny thing is some of the bigger and more juicy stories are happening under the radar as false rumors spread  around the island of Nantucket.  

An author in need of an idea for her next novel, who is worried about an advance she invested, her best friend who is feeling ignored by her husband and daughters as she works on a garden paradise, twin teen aged girls who have drifted apart, a pilot,a realtor, a garden architect and the way people talk about those they think have it all.  This book kept me listening and wanting to find out what would happen next.

I think this would make for a fun book club read, I hate spoilers so I won't add any here, but it would be fun to pull apart how each of the rumors was started and the motivation of the one who started it, along with how the ripples from the rumor spiraled out into the lives of the characters. It helped to see how people felt about the rumors, or if they were even aware of them by having the chapters from different characters points of view.  This added to the story as we actually knew what each of them really thought and felt about things.

Honestly I was a little sad when it ended.  I think I will be trying another book by this author.

I know I started with a blurb from Amazon, but I also need to plug my favorite indie bookstore which is where I do most of my book purchasing.  I love having a bookstore in my community to shop at.  They also have an online store, so you can order books and have them delivered to you.  I hope avid readers already know where their independent bookstores are, but in case you don't have one, i highly recommend Let's Play Books (https://www.letsplaybooks.com/).  I have both ordered online and shopped at the store and I have never been disappointed.